The Arena (1974)

Wonderful character development!

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Admirable film.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Steve Carver's "The Arena" aka. "Naked Warriors" of 1974 is a highly entertaining piece of 70s exploitation that should not be missed by a B-movie fan. Produced by the almighty Roger Corman, co-directed by the king of exploitation himself, Joe D'Amato, and starring the sexiest duo of 70s cult heroines, the wonderful Pam Grier and Margaret Markov, this is pure Grindhouse cinema for lovers, and should not leave anybody bored.Abducted from their homelands and enslaved by Romans, two young women, the Nubian Mamawi (Pam Grier) and Bodicia (Margaret Markov) from the Brittany, are, along with other female slaves purchased by the Roman owner of an arena, where they are to do domestic work and serve as mistresses/sex slaves to the gladiators. After a fight at the dinner table, however, one of their unscrupulous slaveholders suggests to have the women fight for their lives in the arena, in order to offer something fresh to the blood-thirsty audiences...Both stunningly beautiful, charismatic, sexy and cool, Pam Grier and Margaret Markov are a true dream team in exploitation cinema (something they already proved in "Black Mama, White Mama" of 1972). Apart from Grier and Markov, the cast furthermore contains Lucretia Love ("Battle Of The Amazons", "The Sexorcist") and Rosalba Neri ("Lady Frankenstein", "Johnny Yuma"). Another cool role is that of Paul Mueller, a huge, ugly and bald Tor Johnson-lookalike, who plays an invincible gladiator. I personally also found the score pretty cool, although it is certainly not too original. The sleaze and violence are not quite as extreme as in many other exploitation flicks of the kind, but there's enough of both to entertain. Being a fan of exploitation flicks (or not) is a matter of taste, of course, and "The Arena" may therefore not be everybody's type of film. I personally love this kind of films however, and I therefore recommend this to all my fellow exploitation-enthusiasts. Especially Pam-Grier fans should give it a try!

Roger Corman's tough, engrossing, skillfully executed proto-feminist $1.98 drive-in version of "Spartacus," an early New World Pictures production reuniting the dynamic distaff duo of Pam Grier and Margaret Markov, who previously formed a sparky, highly charged rat-a-tat-tat chemistry together in Eddie Romero's excellent Filipino "The Defiant Ones" variant "Black Mama, White Mama." Ancient Rome, Italty: Desperate for a little variety and bored with your standard mano a mano gladiatorial combat, the gross, idle, decadent rich captors of a culturally diverse assortment of slaves decide to let their much abused female servants engage in vicious one winner per battle to the death gladiator fights. The female fighters, who include the gutsy Mamawi (the one and only Pam Grier, in typically ferocious fit'n'physical fighting mode), the compassionate Bodicia (beauteous, blue-eyed unsung favorite firebrand blonde Margaret Markov), and the flighty Diedre (lovely redhead cupcake Lucretia Love), understandably disgusted with the foul, ignoble, dehumanizing treatment they receive from their odious oppressors, stage a violent, rousing climactic revolt in which men and women alike savagely fight for their freedom.Ably directed by Steve Carver (who also helmed the bang-up Depression-era corker "Big Bad Mama" for Corman), with quick pacing, snappy editing, a pungent, convincing period atmosphere, a tightly constructed narrative that thunders along with tremendous drive, and a fine, brooding score by Francesco De Masi, "The Arena" really makes the cut as top-of-the-line high concept 70's exploitation cinema at its most quirky and inspired. The solid, unusually intelligent script by John William and Joyce Carol Corrington (who previously wrote the funky end-of-the-world sci-fi/action hoot "The Omega Man") poses an extremely challenging and provocative moral question: Would you willingly kill another person in order to stay alive? And how much abuse would you endure before finally deciding that enough's enough? Furthermore, the truly terrific B-movie twosome of Pam and Margaret make for strong, smart and sympathetic heroines whose desire for independence is both genuinely admirable and even inspirational. Sara Bey, a striking brunette actress who's most fondly remembered as the titular perverted character in "Lady Frankenstein," makes for an eminently hateful villainess as the bitchy, overbearing, cold-hearted wealthy wench Cordelia. The gladiatorial combat scenes seriously cook: they're brutal, sweaty and bloody, the kind of splendidly staged down'n'dirty swords and battle axes a swinging fights that are quite exciting in a fiercely visceral, kick-you-in-the-guts sort of way (Pam in particular wields a mean trident). A genuine oddity from the Glorious Golden Era of the Grindhouse, "The Arena" partially succeeds on the basis of its sheer strangeness alone and largely because it's simply a very well-done consummate pro job all around.

This an interesting mixture of two very different kinds of exploitation film. On one hand, it's basically a Roger Corman women-in-prison film (complete with lots of showers, catfights, and a big bust-out at the end)featuring WIP regulars Pam Greir and Margaret Markhof. On the other hand, it is an Italian "peplum" that was reputedly largely directed by its Italian cinematographer Joe D'Amato and which also stars the luscious Italian actress Rosalba Neri (aka Sarah Bay) as the villianess making her return to the peplum dramas that had made her (semi)famous in the 1960's.As a Corman film it's not too bad. It has his usual trademark of faux feminism and gratuitous female nudity (by Grier, Markhof, and some of the other slave/prisoners)and it's very formulaic right down to the death of likable innocent(s) and the revenge plot at the end. Unfortunately, it's also a little too tame--it's certainly nowhere near as sleazy as what we've come to expect from the notorious Joe D. I was also personally disappointed at how much they wasted Neri. Not only does she not get naked (a lesbian scene with her and Grier or Markhof would certainly have been memorable), but as a villain she comes off kind of bland--not nearly what she showed she's capable of in films like "Amuck", "Top Sensation", and "Lady Frankenstein".I guess whether you like this or not will depend on whether you're more of a Corman and Grier fan (in which case it's pretty OK) or whether you're a D'Amato and Neri fan (in which case you'll probably be a little disappointed).

At first glance, it appears that Roger Corman was trying something new and different with The Arena. But once you get into it, it's easy to see that the movie is yet another Women in Prison film, albeit in a different setting. As far as WIPs go, it's middle-of-the-road - some of the movie works while while some of it doesn't.There are a couple of things that The Arena has going for it. First and most obvious is Pam Grier and Margaret Markov. These two seem to have a natural chemistry. The scenes with both actresses are the highlight of the movie. After watching Grier and Markov together, I really want to see Black Mama, White Mama more than ever. Another thing The Arena has going for it is a sense of fun. If you don't take it too seriously, there's a lot of silly, almost cheesy fun to be had.Unfortunately, not everything in the movie works. I'll start with the plot. Actually lack of a plot would be a better description. Women are kidnapped, taken to Rome to serve as slaves, forced to fight, and try to escape. There's absolutely no character development and no reason to care about most of them. Another area where The Arena doesn't hold up to close scrutiny is the fight scenes. These scenes are so obviously choreographed and staged that nothing looks natural. Usually I enjoy seeing Pam Grier kicking butt, but here it's not as good as I had hoped.